To the Future
by Blackrose Kitsune
Summary: Of all the lies he's told in his life, why must this one come back to hurt him? With Hiei gone, Kurama is left to pick up the pieces of his life. But even with the help of his friends, will it be enough without Hiei there?
1. For Each Beginning, An End

To the Future

---

Chapter 1: For Each Beginning, An End

---

Sinking forevermore beneath the horizon, the sun slips away as the Earth prepares to tuck it to rest under an impending blanket of navy. Red-orange light shifts glimmer on the water, swaying gently on the still waves. The night air is pleasant, still warm from the recently passing sunny day, but already having taken on the cool chill of approaching night.

Calm and peaceful. Serene and perfect. The perfect moment to end a perfect day.

Until I hear her bittersweet cry rising on the wind, resonating in the still of the air.

"This is the end! I'm tired of waiting for you Yuusuke! Half my life I've waited for you to come around! Even when you were here, you weren't really! You weren't here for me! Go on fighting…" her voice, so steeped in the unspoken agony of the foregone years grows softer, "…but it's time I get what I want."

I watch as her once defiant figure draws into itself, her arms falling limply--lifelessly to her sides once more.

Somehow, I'm almost certain that the salty ocean breeze washing up towards me will soon be accompanied by another not-quite-as refreshing salted aroma.

I lower my gaze to the sand and look away from the distressed maiden respectfully. Amidst the sea of crimson spilling before my eyes, I see a cigarette butt drop to the earth, and a black boot coming down resoundingly atop it to put it out. In here own way, Shizuru paid her own sort of silent vigil to her friend.

Although the words themselves hadn't come from her lips directly, we all knew what she really meant. For three years--a long three years--she stood aside placidly, watching with unquestioning compliance as the world went on without her. People grew into their new lives and into their new roles in High School. People grew up and apart, changing their own friends and standards by the day. Falling into love and just as surely falling out of it.

As blunt as the description of coming of age and into your own may sound, it's the nicest way to put it. After all there must always come a time when we realize no good can come of staying in the past.

Expectations change. Circumstances change. People change….

Emotions change…

And she hadn't let it happen as it was naturally supposed to have done. All because of a single promise, that now, after so long, seemed to be unraveling right before her very eyes.

I don't suppose any of us had really expected her to stay true to her word. Not because she was disloyal, no, but because we all knew who had made her the promise.

_"You know Kurama, I'm surprised Keiko hasn't gotten fed up with him and left him yet."_ Kuwabara had told me that earlier this very day, and I must say I see his point.

Yuusuke is a good person; I shan't discredit him by saying less, because he really isn't bad. He just needs to learn to get his priorities straight. And, I don't think he has. For as long as he and Keiko have been friends, which to my knowledge stretches the better part of the last decade and a half, she should be the first and foremost on his list.

But, she isn't.

And perhaps that's why my heart goes out to her on this forsaken eve.

"I don't want you to wait either." The all-at-once familiar and unfamiliar voice draws me from my reprieve and I glance up in the direction of the shore. "See? You don't have to."

The next scene is a blur to me. Keiko looks on disbelieving before running the stretch of shore that separated them and leaping with complete abandon into his arms causing him to overbalance, and sending them both tumbling to the sand. For a moment their eyes lock and in an act of blazing defiance she grabs the scruff of his jacket and kisses him with what I might be mistaking for furious passion.

Then, as if to protest their coming together, a giant, thundering wave sweeps over both of them, draping them in a curtain of seawater. As the tide flows back, both of them are sitting upright, drenched to the skin, baring the most curious expressions on their faces.

I can't help but chuckle slightly in spite of the circumstance, and neither can Shizuru apparently.

From that moment, things took on a flow of normalcy their lives had possessed at a time before the Reikai Tantei had been assembled three years prior. The two of them were able to act freely for the first time in ages, and of course Kuwabara and Botan made no hesitancy in jumping in as well.

As childish and trivial as their little water war was, somehow I couldn't help but envy them as I watched from behind the far shadows that had enveloped the hill where Shizuru and I stood. They were together again, against even the slimmest of odds, and were free to be themselves once more. No stringent school codes to bind them. No quests to undertake to save the world--any of the four of them--on a moment's notice. Nothing standing in the way of them being themselves and returning for a brief glimmer of a moment to the life which they once had, and yet could never fully retrieve from the past.

They could relive the past and commence to the future. Could continue to move within the flow of time. Whereas I could not.

It seems that even though a promise had been kept today, another had been lost to a lie. One that I wasn't even sure of why I had said it in the first place.

Watching my companions act with such carefree abandon in the wake of the new beginnings that awaited them, my heart clenched in pain and unspoken anger.

_"Hiei, I value our friendship and all that we've been through, but I'm not interested in you **that** way."_

Even now I'm not sure why I lied. I don't know why I spoke those words to him. Perhaps because I knew given the situation it wouldn't have been appropriate to say the words I truly meant, or perhaps because I felt it was morally and socially frowned upon. There again are those stringent, binding codes to which we must unfairly adhere, even when we must go against what our very hearts know.

Or maybe I was just afraid.

Either way, it didn't matter. The fact remained that I had indeed lied, and nothing could be done to change that.

_Why_, I wondered, _why of all the countless lies I've told in my life… why must this one, of them all, come back to hurt me now?"_

I feel a hand close gently on my shoulder and glance around to see Shizuru standing and looking at me with a soft-spoken understanding in her soft hazel eyes. As though she knows what was running through my mind.

"Don't worry Kurama, he'll come back. Maybe he'll come around. Just stay strong, hm?"

I smiled thinly, trying to make it seem genuine, or at least slightly less forced "yes, you're right."

Bet even as I said it my spirits hung low.

_For every new beginning after all, there is only another end._

---


	2. Matter of Time

Chapter 2: Matter of Time

---

_Kurama,_

_It's been awhile, hasn't it? I can't believe I haven't seen you once in the last year... But, I guess that's what happens when ya go and move on us. What, are you suddenly too good for Tokyo? Eh, I know, I know, college. So, how is Kyoto anyway? Is it much better than Tokyo? I'll bet it is. It's more of a student-oriented town, isn't it? Must be, why else would you have moved so far out of your way? I mean, I'm sure there's plenty of respectable universities in Tokyo. Like, oh, say, Tokyo University._

_Well, I hope this letter gets to you. I'd have called, ya know, but Keiko and I didn't want to ring up a costly bill, and besides that, we don't have your class schedule, so we wouldn't know when you're actually free to pick up the phone. 'Course, I s'pose you coulda just called us, you have our number don'cha? Either way, you have Shiori's number and she can get hold of us for you if you really needed to talk. Guess you don't need to though, eh? Or, do ya just not wanna keep in touch with us? I'm kiddin' you know. I know you're busy with your studying and stuff._

_Anyways, I hope you're doing well; how's school? Kuwabara actually passed his entrance exams so he'll be a first year college student in the fall. Clear in Osaka. Can you believe that? Kuwa moved farther away than you did all for his education. Who woulda thought? But, even though he's farther away, I've still heard more from him than you, ya know. Yeah, ok, I know, enough with the guilt trip thing, right? Sorry._

_Hey, have you seen Hiei? I haven't even heard from him since Makai. You'd think the little bastard would want to be around a bit more often what with Kuwabara and his sister and everything. Wait… does he even know? For that matter, do you even know?_

_Guess it couldn't hurt to tell you. Kuwabara proposed to Yukina. It was a few weeks ago, just before the Chrysanthemums came back into bloom at the beginning of spring. He wanted to wait until the Sakura blossomed, I think, but because of their blooming time he wouldn't have had the time to come down, what with his own school schedule and classes. Anyways, she said yes. She was a bit confused about it at first, you know she can be so naïve, but then she agreed. You'd think she knew how he felt all along from the way they act now. They're engaged, and once Kuwa finds a house of his own near campus or can manage to afford a co-ed dorm room, they're gettin' married. To think Hiei and Kuwabara are going to be in-laws… Kill me now..._

_Anyways, I'm avoiding the topic at hand. And, you're probably too busy with your studies to really have time to wade through all my ranting. But Keiko wants you to come visit. She had me write out all these letters to everyone, you know, since no one stayed in Tokyo. In fact, the only one Keiko has managed to invite face-to-face was Genkai-oba-san, and she can't make it._

_There's something important she wants to tell you all, and she's bent on having everyone together for it. Speaking of everyone, if you see Hiei tell him too. I'm sure he won't pass up a chance to see Yukina, or a chance to harass Kuwa for that matter. And, I'd let up on telling him about Kuwa's and Yukina's engagement. I'm pretty sure Kuwabara wants to LIVE to see his wedding day._

_But, if you can come, please come by the Ramen-ya on Friday. We'll be waiting for ya and hopin' to see ya._

_Thanks man,_

_Yuusuke_

Friday.

That gave me two days.

Two days to request advance assignments from my professors at the University. Two days to ask personal leave at my workplace. Two days to get the money to buy a rail pass for the JR Tokaido Shinkansen**_---_**

Two days to find the time to make it…

I sigh tiredly and re-fold Yuusuke's letter, setting the slightly worn fragment of paper atop my desk gently.

_What to do?_ I shake my head, I don't know. There was a time**_---_**I suppose when I played an active part in the Reikai Tantei**_---_**when I would drop everything for my friends. I would do anything for them. I would always be there.

And now I simply cannot find the time.

Really, a part of me thinks it is not that I cannot find the time, but rather that I do not wish to find the time.

What point would there be? What reason do I have to drop everything in my life just to make an idle appearance at the Yukimura Diner? Yes, of course my 'friends' want to see me. They must, or Keiko wouldn't have wasted her time hassling Yuusuke to pen the letters; but what other reason do I have?

I glance warily at the phone on my wall. Perhaps I could call. I could tell them how terribly sorry I am for not being able to make it. After all, for all they know, I'm too busy with my studies to find the time to travel two full hours out of my way to Tokyo.

I feel a slight frown crease my features. No. I cannot lie that way.

While it is true that between coursework and my job I have been busy, Tokyo is only roughly two hours away. It wouldn't make all that much of a difference if I decided to visit. And, on Fridays classes dismiss early. Keiko must be aware of this; and it is undoubtedly why she picked Friday**_---_**so Kuwabara and I would both have enough time to make it if we so chose.

"I don't know…" the sigh deftly, looking blankly toward the folded letter on my desk, as though expecting it to give me some definite answer, finding myself deftly intrigued at how the fluorescent light cast upon it's ivory body radiates most spectacularly.

Who would have thought that something so simple as a letter could have such an adverse effect on me?

And that in itself is another curious thing…

Why per se did it have such an unfavorable effect on me?

I don't really understand it. I care deeply for my friends; I should want to see them. Especially after such a length of time. And yet, here I am, making excuses as to why I can't see them.

Why?

_'Hey, have you seen Hiei? …You'd think the little bastard would want to be around a bit more often…'_

Idle lines of Yuusuke's hastily scrawled letter replay themselves in my mind.

No. No, I have not seen Hiei lately. The last I saw him was the day we all returned _home_. The day he should have come home with us. The day I lied in a hollow attempt to save face.

Ironic. In trying to save face I still ended up losing, didn't I?

Ever since that day, or ever since that evening down at the seashore, I have thought about what I said. Why I chose to lie to him still isn't clear to me. Perhaps it was because after I had said the words, his expression clearly dictated he would have murdered me on spot if I had truly meant them.

As I've said before, I don't know why I lied, and I don't think I shall ever fully know why.

But, upon pondering that question, I have given myself the answer to another.

Why don't I want to see my friends?

Because after what happened with Hiei I lost face. I had lost the only true friend I had known in my life, and so, of course I no longer cared what was to become of the rest of them. After all, when you lose that which is most important to you, what do you care for everything else? Simple, you don't care.

Or, you pretend not to care…

No matter how despondent I may outwardly appear, I'm not foolish enough to believe that I truly don't care. I know better; I know otherwise.

Well, isn't this pleasant? Just when I thought I had the answer to why I wanted to avoid my friends, it seems I have only found reason not to avoid them.

I stretch tiredly, feeling my back crack slightly as I do so. I had been at my desk most of the afternoon working on a term paper for my physics class, to be due next week, and so hadn't moved much from my spot since coming home.

"I don't suppose a small break would hurt," I mutter to myself, standing up and yawning slightly, "and I could definitely use some fresh air," I add as an afterthought, as I reach for the jacket hanging limply over the back of my computer chair.

I slip the worn jacket on and pull my keys from my pocket. With a last fleeting glance towards the abandoned letter lying on my desk, I step from the threshold, resolved to work through the tangled thoughts it had brought on in a more favorable location.

---

Skimming over the newspaper held in my hands, I glance halfheartedly at the center page. Of course the page is merely a tribute to those truly _unique_ individuals who claim to have been abducted, or otherwise harassed in some way, by aliens. The page spouts nothing but lunacy and exaggerations of course, but it had once contained a picture of Hiei. Ever since I've been keeping an eye on the mid section of the paper to see if he had mad another slip-up on his patrolling duty.

Apparently not.

I shrug, hand the cashier a few yen, and retire to an abandoned booth overlooking Arashiyama Station. In a few minutes time another train would pull up and I would board it, traveling due west on the Keifuku line until I reached my desired location.

Until those dreary minutes come to pass, however, I must find amusement in watching rushed pedestrians swarm around the station platform with little purpose.

"Minamino-kun?"

I faintly register the familiar voice calling my name and turn expectantly in the direction the tone had issued from. I manage a thin smile as I come to recognize the woman approaching me.

She has light brown hair, which is usually up in a tight bun, but is currently cascading over her shoulders haphazardly in the late evening breeze, and soft blue eyes flecked with pale green that always harbor a mischievous glint. Her usual attire of a clean pressed navy skirt and blouse have been replaced with a loose pair of jeans and a ragged looking windbreaker jacket, thrown hastily over a white sweater.

"Good evening, Ikura-san," I greet her respectfully, nodding towards her in exchange for bowing, due to my current seating situation, as she comes within a manageable distance.

Ikura-san is one of my professors at Kyoto Seika University, you see. In fact, she teaches the subject I major in. Biological Sciences.

"What are you doing all the way out here in Keifuku, Minamino-kun?" she inquires brightly, a delicate smile curling her lips. "Exams are looming in the very near future, I'd expect students to be locked in their dorms studying."

"Too much work and not enough play can ruin your chances at passing the Exams just as much as too much play and not enough work," I reply lightly.

She nods, laughing lightly. "Couldn't have put it better myself Minamino-kun," she agrees, "but still, why are you such a length away from campus? Keifuku heads quite a ways away and you have classes tomorrow. Where could you possibly be going?"

I nod, knowing full well that Keifuku was a great distance out of my way. "I know."

"So, where are you headed then?" she persists with curiosity reminiscent of a student.

I can't help but smile, one thing several of my fellow classmates admire about Ikura-san is that when she isn't in the classroom, she acts just like us**_--_**that is to say, like them. When not bound by the codes of the four-walled teaching institution, she treats us just as any other person, and not as her students. I suppose it's a trait of hers that I, too, admire.

"Well?"

I ponder for a moment on what to tell her, and then decide the truth would suffice. "I am just heading to Arashiyama Nakanoshima."

She nods in understanding, "the Park, right?"

"Indeed."

"I see. Well, I'll join you then, shall I?"

"Pardon?" I ask, not fully understanding her intentions.

"I'm heading out there too. In fact, I'd say most people on the platform are. Not many worthwhile places branch from the Keifuku line after all."

"Well, if you are so inclined," I comply. Besides, who am I to say no to a professor?

"I am," she grins, "so, we'd best be off then, the train's just pulled in and people are boarding. We'd best get a move on."

She moves aside so that I may exit the booth and then I proceed to follow her down the platform, and after much bustling, aboard the train.

---

Loose Sakura drift on the breeze, their fading pinkish-roan tint brilliantly offsetting the darkening sky. I gaze at them wistfully as they fall about me. Here, in Kyoto, the Sakura had almost run their few week course, if I were to go to Tokyo, they would have only recently begun anew. It might seem strange, but location can have a great deal of impact on the curious little blossoms.

As much as I should be enjoying the Sakura, I can't help feeling distraught, almost as if a part of me were dying alongside the slowly withering blooms.

In an attempt to offset the feeling welling within me, I gaze at anything but the drifting petals. The cobblestones beneath me lead a winding path towards an upcoming inlet, draining further down into a small lake. People walking in the area, many of them, as Ikura-san had predicted, having come from the Keifuku line as well, stroll happily amid the blooms. They are impervious to the miserable implications the blooms carry with them. And for good reason, I suppose. After all, they care nothing for the troubles and whiles of a meager college sophomore, so they pay me no mind, and in turn, pay no mind to the miserable thoughts, that the Sakura, innocent in themselves, can bring on.

Yet, as hard as I try to avoid looking at the blooms, my straying thoughts lead me to gaze once more towards them. I can't say why, because honestly I don't know why, but there's something painfully soothing about the blossoms. So innocent and pure, yet melancholy all at once. In a sense, it's reminiscent of the reason that brought me here: The blooms are as innocent as Yuusuke's inquiry; and they are as melancholy as the effect that his inclination had on me.

"Minamino-kun?"

At Ikura-san's familiar voice, I start slightly. I don't suppose I had expected her to be walking alongside me as she was, and so I must have forgotten about her presence.

"Gome ne, Ikura-san," I apologize quickly, dipping my head into a slight bow, "nan desu ka?"

She raises a credulous eyebrow at me, her arms crossed loosely before her. "Minamino-kun, why so formal? It's not as though we're attending class. There's no need for all the rigid formality you show."

I sigh. "My apologies Ikura-san," I cast a wistful look towards the Sakura dancing in the wind around us. "I just didn't think you'd accompany me this far. I honestly forgot you were there."

She nods in understanding, a wisp of her pale hair slipping over her shoulder. "That's understandable. You know**_---_**" she turns from me slowly, walking a few steps along the cobblestones and stopping beneath a cascading branch of still blossoms. With a sort of graceful ease she reaches up towards the hanging limb and plucks a flower from the branch, holding it in her open palm. "**_---_**If I were gazing as thoroughly miserably at the Sakura, as you were, I'd probably have forgotten too."

Though I'm sure she hadn't meant it sarcastically, or condescendingly, I can feel a pale flush of embarrassment creep into my cheeks. I avert my gaze from her respectfully.

"So tell me, Minamino-kun," she voices thoughtfully, "why do you gaze with such a pained longing at the Sakura?"

I consider her question for a moment, not sure what answer to give. For a moment I must actually stop to remind myself that she is still, despite the circumstance, my teacher. And, being so, I have no right to add my problems to her own. Yet, from the tone of her voice as she asked, to the sincere look in her eyes as she gazes upon me now, waiting for a response, I feel worse for not answering.

"Well," I begin tentatively, deciding that I would tell her what she asked. Just nothing more and nothing less. "The Sakura are nearly out of season here in Kyoto." _Many things are falling out of season here in Kyoto... _"And in Tokyo they'd only just be starting to bloom at this time." _Just as so many other things have started to..._

She gives me a small smile, a smile that makes me wonder if she knows something I do not... A smile I myself am all-too-familiar with.

"Of course, Minamino-kun. But why only so suddenly?"

"Pardon?"

"The Sakura have been falling out of season for the past week now, yet only now you mourn their soon-to-be departure. Why so suddenly?" She casts a wondering glance around the premises, watching the Sakura with newfound curiosity.

I hesitate slightly, "I received a letter from a friend in Tokyo, requesting my presence this coming Friday."

"So then, what's the problem?" she asks mildly, turning back to me. As the wind picks up it sends her hair cascading into her eyes and she swipes at it distractedly to push it back behind her ears once more.

"Well, it's been a full year since I saw them last. I moved here to attend school and have only returned to visit a few times. I'm not so sure I'd be fully welcome there after such a long time." _After all, they've changed... I've changed... We've changed… Everything has changed…_

"If you can willingly call them 'friends' then I'm sure they'd welcome you back with open arms," she comments knowingly.

"It's nothing more than a word**_---_**"

"Don't be foolish," she scolds lightly, cutting across me and beginning to walk along the cobblestones. The notion that she was not finished speaking is what makes me follow slowly after her. "They **_are_** your friends. Why would they lie? Besides, why would they write asking you to show up if they didn't want to see you?"

"Common courtesy?" I suggest feebly.

At this she stops abruptly and turns back to face me. As swiftly as she had managed it, I thought for a moment that my comment had angered her. But, the look in her eyes was not one of anger. In fact, it resembled something closer to pity.

"Minamino-kun, for being at the top of your class and notably intelligent, some of your assumptions borderline moronic."

The utter bluntness with which she had said it sent me into a momentary lapse of thought. Before I could so much as mutter a retort she had taken up her tread in the conversation once more. Her voice had returned to its soft alto and her eyes shone in unspoken understanding.

"I'm sorry that you think so little of yourself, that you would deny your friends, Minamino-kun," she begins softly. "It's sad that a student such as yourself should act this way, and should hold such a strong sense of pessimism at the world..." At her words I can feel my body tense and go numb as buzzing encompasses my thoughts. "...I can only assume that something slightly-less-than-happy occurred to you to make you this way, but it's not my business."

I nod slowly.

She gives me a wry smile, "but my advice, for what it's worth is this: Go home. Even if not for your friends**_---_**" She stops and takes a slow step towards me, following them in succession until she stands a mere few feet from me. Before I can say anything, or have the opportunity to object, she takes one of my hands in hers and presses something firmly into my palm. The next thing I know, she is retreating from me, her back already growing progressively smaller against the backdrop. After a moment she looks back at me, the familiar glint in her soft blue-green eyes returned, "**_---_**The Sakura are still worth seeing," she calls, a knowing smile curving her lips.

Then, she is gone, and I am left looking after her.

A few minutes of uneventful silence pass, in which the sky grows darker and the straggling park walkers disperse, their numbers dwindling to gone. It is then that I realize I had best be heading back as well.

Before I begin to make my way home, I turn for a moment to the object Ikura-san had pressed into my hand. Opening the corresponding fist, a withered, and now slightly battered, Sakura flower drifts out of my hand, falling limply to the cobblestones. My eyes linger on it sightlessly until the wind picks up and sweeps it across the earth and away again.

I nod to myself and turn away.

It's about time I got home...

And it's about time I made a phone call...

---

**_Author's Ramblings_**

Well, now that _A Glass Rose_ is finished, it's time I started up on this again. It should progress into a nice long multi-chapter story, but it really depends on what you guys as readers want. So don't forget to let me know. Speaking of knowing, if you're a fan of my writing, please check out my new forum, _**From Plotbunnies to Stories**_, for update dates and all other related stuff.

Anyways, please leave your name at the door with a review. Critiques, constructive criticism, flames... all happily accepted. Thanks.

Blackrose


	3. Reunion

Chapter 3: Reunion

---

_It's most certainly a far cry from Kyoto…_ The thoughts resonate in my mind as I step out of the small, cramped cab that had taken me from Tokyo Station, and hand the driver a few crumpled bills. I close the car door with some difficulty, and watch as the driver maneuvers himself slowly back into the flow of midday traffic. As the little car gradually disappears from my field of view, I'm hit with a mixed sense of nostalgia and dread.

"I'm back home," I sigh quietly, marveling at the foreign taste the words left in my mouth. And all at once my heart fills with the warmth of familiarity and the icy dread of changed fortunes.

Pedestrians swarm around me, and I note that the city seems to be more crowded than I remembered as of late. Of course, I must take into account the fact that the Sakura are blooming here, and that that in itself would draw more people in to the mainland and respectively, to the Capital.

With people rushing past me in all directions, and I just standing in the middle of the sidewalk for lack of direction, getting my bearings straight was quite a task. The increase in people seemed to have decreased their overall hospitality, I notice, as more than a few rude comments are called at me while people shove around me and I stand forever in thier way, just trying to figure out which way I need to go.

After a moment of struggling against the flow of pedestrian traffic, I locate the nearest street sign, and with a quick once over, which is all the time I was allowed do to mitigating factors, I conclude that walking up the next three blocks would put me at the entrance of the Small Ramen-ya Yuusuke ran.

As I walk, my eyes wander around the premises, and I'm startled to see just how much has changed in the past year since my leave of the city. The neighborhood I was presently walking in was one I was all too familiar with, having spent a greater portion of my high school years in need of the wares they sold and offered. Where Meiou Senior High School's bookstore once stood was now an arcade. The small Student Aid building just a few buildings down had completely disappeared only to be replaced by some looming high-rise figure. In fact, the only thing that looked unchanged was the High School itself; its silhouette standing alone in the far distance of the shops.

Coming home after such a long time, it's hard to accept the changes that occur in the wake of one's absence, and I have come to realize this. As always, I'm made painfully aware of how meager my existence is upon the planet; the leave of one being hardly causes time to stop, and yet, why do we so expect it to? I couldn't say, really. But, time hasn't stopped; and life has most probably gone on for everyone else and I have to accept that.

"Kurama!"

At the sound of my name being called I stop, momentarily bewildered. Having been pulled from my reverie so suddenly, it takes me a moment to regroup myself. When I manage it, I look towards the sound of the voice only to see an almost frantic young woman running towards me.

Accustomed to seeing her bearing a most-usually vivid kimono, it takes me a moment to realize that the woman running at me in jeans and a white T-shirt is Botan. Of course, I suppose her uniquely blue hair should have given the fact away.

"Oh, you came! Of course you came, why wouldn't you have?" Her voice is ecstatic and within a moment she has thrown herself at me, two arms hugging me tightly around the throat.

I stagger slightly as the force of the action and her weight catches up to me, and my arms wrap reflexively around he waist. I manage a smile, and in a small voice I greet her. "It's good to see you Botan."

She hugs me tightly, bouncing on the balls of her feet, and I can feel my eyes water slightly. Then, quite abruptly she pulls away, and before I'm aware of it, she's dragging me along behind her, almost pulling me from under my feet.

"I've missed you, Kurama." She begins amiably, in the same way as she was prone to in years prior. "I mean, we've all missed you, of course, but…" she sighs, "Oh, you know!"

I can't help but smile as I follow alongside her, my hand still held tightly in hers.

_Perhaps things haven't changed so much after all…_

It's a risky assumption, and perhaps an unreasonable one, but I could hazard to think it at least, I tell myself determinately. Ikura-san must surelybe right.

"So, how've you been? You've probably been back home even less than I have you know! Reikai has me going insane, you wouldn't believe what Lord Koenma has been doing**_--_**"

"Botan, calm down," I hear a smooth baritone voice call out with a slight laugh. Even after a year the voice greets me with a welcome familiarity, and I'm glad to see that his face shows no signs of deferring me from those thoughts. It holds a warm and friendly smile, and his deep russetteyes glint in the wane sunlight welcomely.

I nod in greeting as Botan continues to drag me forward, closing the distance between him and ourselves steadily. After a moment, the tug on my hand disappears and my arm falls back to my side quietly. Botan has taken residence between the two of us and she looks slightly anxious.

"Good to have you back _home_ man," he greets me cheerfully, giving a small smile. I think I hear him emphasize the word home as he says it, but before I can dwell too much upon it, he pulls me into a sort of brotherly hug, and gives me a warm clasp on the back.

I nod, returning the gesture slightly, "It's good to be back," I agree. "So, where is everyone then?"

He pulls back and nods in Botan's direction, knowingly she disappears into the building behind her. Then he turns to me and grins, "They're inside waitin' for you, man, come on." He motions towards the entrance of the Ramen-ya with a slight jerk of the head. I nod and follow him inside the small shop.

Upon entering, my senses are quickly overwhelmed by my surroundings. The amiable chatter of people, none of which I'm assuming are customers, considering the sign in the front window read 'Closed'. The aroma of some obscure food lingers on the still air of the enclosure; and all too suddenly I find myself being bombarded by people.

After a few minutes in which I had progressed to greeting everyone, the buzz of noise dies down into quiet conversation as we all gather ourselves around a small corner booth in the back of the restaurant. Yuusuke and Kuwabara have taken the seats beside mine and the girls are sitting across from us.

As they immerse themselves in conversation it doesn't take me long to realize that I'm just as out of the proverbial loop as they all are. In fact, from what I can gather, no one aside from Keiko and Yuusuke stayed in Tokyo and they've had about as much contact with each other as I have.

"So, Fox boy, what's been up with you, hm?" Kuwabara nudges me slightly in the side and I turn to him respectfully.

"Nothing of consequence," I shrug lightly, "school and work, you know."

At my reply he seems slightly output.

"Oh, come on," Botan insists, "Surely Kyoto's been interesting?"

I shake my head slowly, "I'm sorry that my life can't be of more interest to you."

"Don't be foolish." At the snappish tone my gaze flies up instinctively, before I have a chance to bristle at a potential threat, however, my gaze meets that of Keiko's. "You're life is just fine, at least you're making a productive living. Be thankful for that."

She has the same deep brown eyes and soft expression as last time I saw her, and her demeanor seems to be forever unchanged. In fact, the only affect time seems to have taken on her is the length of her hair, which was cascading freely down her back, and a tired, worried look that seems to have been worn into her, no doubt the result of living with Yuusuke for such a length of time.

The last sentiment elicits a slight chuckle.

I smile apologetically for my hostility. "Nice seeing you again Keiko," I nod slightly towards her.

"And you," she agrees quietly, her voice suddenly overcome with emotion as she bends down to hug me with tears in her eyes. I pat her reassuringly on the back and after a second she composes herself and straightens up once more.

"And you, Urameshi Yuusuke," her voice adopts a quiet, seething tone quite rapidly, each syllable laced with venom. "Don't even worry about helping me run OUR shop. Oh, no, I can handle it just fine on my own." Her hands are resolutely on her hips and she fixes him with a cold glare.

Yuusuke shrugs in that famous noncommittal way of his. "Well, if you don't need my help…"

"UGH! Yuusuke! Sometimes you make me so…!" Her voice tapers off and she turns rigidly and storms off in the opposite direction, heading towards the storage rooms.

I cringe mentally as the storeroom door slams with painful deliberation. I almost feel sorry for Yuusuke, but more so for Keiko. That she should have to live with this day in and day out, what kind of torture does she wish to subject herself to?

"Anyways," Kuwabara cuts in loudly, in an attempt to ease the awkward silence that had fallen over the table since Keiko's departure. "We can see how you've been doing, Urameshi," he lets out a hollow chuckle; I suppose he found his own attempted wit amusing.

"Yeah, yeah," Comes the latter's indignant huff. He runs a tired hand through his, for once un-gelled, ebony hair and sighs deeply. "Well, so you've seen how I've been… whadda 'bout you Kuwabara? Osaka any more interesting than Kyoto?"

There's a moment of silence in which he ponders the question, then he shrugs the same as I did prior and responds. "Not really. I've been busy between school and work and I've been working on saving up so I can afford to move Yukina in with me at last."

At the mention of her name, the petite koorime sitting beside him averts her gaze to the tabletop so to hide the faint tinge of pink creeping into her cheeks.

The mention of this, of course, makes me aware of another fact expressed in the letter Yuusuke had sent me. I turn to Kuwabara and clasp him on the shoulder, "Congratulations, Kuwabara." I nod to Yukina as well, "and to you, Yukina. I heard you are to be married, any inclinations as to when?"

Yukina remains as ever, resolutely silent, as though embarrassed and Kuwabara just shakes his head with a sort of nervous grin spreading across his features.

"He has to arrange everything first, Kurama." He is spared the need to elaborate on my question by his sister, Shizuru, who has taken up his end of the conversation. She gives me a small smile.

"It could take awhile considering that you boys never think before rushing in to make life-changing decisions," Botan adds lightly, her voice dancing in laughter.

"Indeed," I nod, being mindful not to smile at Botan's well-made point, lest I add insult to injury for Kuwabara. "Well, best of luck to both of you," I smile towards them once more.

"So, eh, Kurama," Kuwabaramutters finally, seeming to have regained the use of his voice. "What about you? Any plans? Got a girlfriend yet?"

He had said the words casually, I know, and surely he had no intention of making them sound derogatory, but that's just the effect they had on me. My heart clenched painfully and I could feel a knot tightening in my chest as though constricting it. Now it was my turn to look away from the group, and I direct my gaze to the far reaches of the store, where a little square of the outside world filters through to peek at me from behind a glass door.

"No…" I reply finally, hoping my voice had come out smoother than the word had sounded to me. "I haven't had any luck in _that_ department yet." In an attempt to ease the situation I let out a forced laugh, yet thesound only slices painfully through my heart, it's serated edges ripping away at my composure shrewdly, leaving me feel exposed.

After this, everyone falls into another of those awkward silences, and I find it the perfect opportunity to excuse myself to the outdoors for some fresh air, though that's probably not what I need most at this time.

---

_Of all the times your memory chooses to vex me…_

It's ironic that just when I began to feel things were looking up, things took the steepest plunge they could have possibly taken. Perhaps the balance sheet of my life is unbalanced… well, with Youko residing in me I suppose my life was never balanced, but… now it seems more off balance than usual.

I shake my head and bring my hands to my temples, massaging them vigorously with my fingertips. As usual, this does no more than cause me to ache. In more ways than one I might add.

_And it's not just every time I think of you that it hurts… but every time I try to forget…_

Sometimes I wish to do just that. I wish to forget. I wish I could make good of Kuwabara's question and find myself a nice, respectable, ningen girlfriend; but I can't. What good would come of it? I simply cannot give my heart away to someone because, as much as it pains me at times, you have already stolen it from me.

I wish I could forget it--forget you--but that is an impossible feat. Memories may dull with time, and perhaps fade away as leaves in the fall, but the pain will not cease. No matter what any ningen philosophy might say to the contrary, time does not heal all wounds. It does no more than leave a half-stitched scar that can be broken; and once again we are forced to feel the pain as thoroughly as in the first hour. And, with that pain, memories are recreated and eventually they become enamored in our minds, less fortunately, they become enamored into our hearts. As is the case with your memory.

A gust of air behind me starts me back to reality, and I open my eyes, gazing half-lidded at the woman who has emerged through the doors behind me to stand with me in the pleasant breeze of evening. Having wrapped herself in the very same ensemble that she had worn on our last encounter, I feel the corners of my mouth curl into a slight smile. This was not in the least ironic. No, not at all.

She gives me a small nod as she rummages through the pockets of her cropped black jacket, presumably for a cigarette. After some fumbling she manages to draw a carton of them from her side pocket. Then she reaches in to retract a small lighter. Soon thereafter she's standing beside me silently, a cigarette burning between her lips and exuding little puffs of omnipresent smoke, the lighter held dankly in her hand.

"Sooo…" she drags out the word in the middle of a fresh draw, then, pulling the cigarette from her lips, she adds, "nothing's changed, eh?"

"Are you questioning me based on our last conversation at the seashore?" I inquire lightly, my eyes staring out before me at the cars on the road and the people still hurrying along on the sidewalks with little intent.

"I guess I am, yeah," she shrugs, replacing the cigarette and taking another long drag from it. The bright, burning end catches my attention and I watch it flicker red-hot with mild interest as she draws in another breath and exhales a steady stream of smoke.

"No, nothing has changed, " I humor her. "And what of you?"

"Hm?" she raises a curious eyebrow at me.

I motion with a small nod towards the lighter she holds in her hand.

At this, she sighs and drops her cigarette, bringing a boot down on top of the burning butt and putting it out. Then, she raises a hand before her, her eyes gazing with a sad longing at the small lighter in its grasp. "No, nothing's changed here either… and," her voice raises an octave in apparent curiosity, "why do you care, Kurama?"

I shrug indifferently, my voice taking on a hint of curiosity itself as I speak. "Why do you care about my situation?"

"Because…" she begins, putting a hand on my shoulder and giving it a slight shake. "Kazuma is engaged, and it's sad to think that even _my _baby brother can get the love of his life before you can."

"You're not happy for him?" I inquire, slightly surprised by her comment.

"Of course I am," she sighs in exasperation, "But, come on Fox boy, let's face it; you're a lot better looking than he is. It's not right that Kazu has the love of his life and you don't."

"It just wasn't in the stars," I shrug lightly, ignoring the pain that lances, forever recurringly,through my heart at the words. "Just as it wasn't for you," I add quietly, my voice dropping respectfully.

"You're right," she agrees after a moment. "But you know, don't give up. I might not have the chance--" her voice wavers slightly as she let her gaze drop to the lighter in her hand once more, only to linger on the initials carved into the metal. "--But you still do." She pats my shoulder in an over exaggerated way and smiles "Besides, if it doesn't work out, we still have each other, eh, Fox boy? With the two of us both doomed to a life of failed loves and pining, maybe we could work out, ne?" She laughs good-naturedly.

"I'll take you up on that offer, Shizuru," I threaten teasingly, a small smile creeping into my features despite the situation.

"Well, it could be worse…" she mutters thoughtfully, "and at least you're good-looking," she sighs dramatically as she throws an arm around my neck and steers me towards the door. "Now come on, I was supposed to come get you, Keiko's ready to make her big announcement."

I nod and allow her to lead me back inside and towards our booth once more. This time she seats herself beside me, so I am spared the awkwardness of sitting next to her brother again.

After a moment of waiting, Keiko emerges from the back room, looking in better spirits than I had last seen her. Her work attire had been exchanged for a loose dress and her hair had been brushed through and tied in a low ponytail. Yuusuke stands from the table and wanders to her side hesitantly. She merely turns to him and smiles, which is probably the last thing he was expecting.

"Everyone," Yuusuke calls, turning out attentions to him. He slips his arm around Keiko's waist and she looks out at us all defiantly, despite the tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"As you know, we were going to wait a few years to get married… just stay engaged until Yuusuke and I secured careers for ourselves…" Keiko's voice trailes off somewhat feebly, and she leans into Yuusuke's side.

As her voice tapers off, his takes up in its stead. "But, plans are meant to change… and we find ourselves having no other choice…"

Keiko swallows nervously, the pink in her cheeks deepening, "Because I'm… pregnant…"

**_Author's Ramblings_**

Here's chapter 3. Surprisingly it's out sooner than even I anticipated. But, my muse has a nasty little habit of creeping up on me at the most unfortunate of times, so I ended up writing this in a burst of inspiration. Hope it turned out in spite of the circumstances of its writing.

Anyways, one reviewer mentioned something about Kurama seeming slightly OOC in the last chapter. I suppose I see their point, because our favorite fox isn't often a pessemistic person, now is he? But, in an attempt to save face and character, I'd like to avoid OOCness as much as possible, which I can do with your help.

Please leave your name at the door with your HONEST opinions, whether they be flame or critique. As well, please tell me if you feel I'm making **_any_** characters too OOC. Thanks. As well, for future updates, please check my forum: **_From Plotbunnies to Stories_**. I'll try to post updates there. Ja.

Blackrose


	4. Everything Changes

Chapter 4: Everything Changes

---

_"Because, I'm… pregnant…"_

The words dance thickly around my skull, sending my thoughts reeling into nothingness. Keiko was pregnant. A soon-to-be mother; Yuusuke, a father… How could this have possibly happened without my prior knowledge? Surely someone must have known, or, at least had an inkling as to what was going on. Or, had they all truly lost touch with each other since that night so long ago at the shore? Was this truly news to everyone?

I sigh heavily, pushing my wind-chapped hands deeper into the warm confines of my jacket pockets, as I walk on. The cool night is painful in comparison with the Ramen-ya, and I almost regrethaving takenmy leave. Not just leave of the warm, snug building—perfect protection against the bitter, razor-laced winds of encroaching night—either. But also leave of my friends.

Yet, even as the thought trickles into my head, like an ill-elicited drop of seawater dripping through dammed and bursting floodgates, I know better than to dwell on it. A painful, desperate trickle was not enough to worry, and I had long-since closed my gates so that no idle memories would break me.

_It'sbeen far too long…_

I have no right to feel regretful, and the inclination is none-too-becoming in itself, I remind myself. After all, for all that I felt now, it was my choice. It was I who had left. It was I who had cut ties to Tokyo and left in search of a '_new_' me. All that I feel now is my fault; and as such, I have no right to regret. For, as they say: "_Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable._" And I quite believe, that in spite of how I may feel now, upon my return, it's best that I did as I did. For, who's to know what may have come otherwise?

I shake my head slowly, stifling a yawn with the back of my hand. As if on cue, the droning chime of the clock in the Town Square goes off. Its echoing tones carried well through town, though I stood far from its initial location. I check my watch, startled when I realize the time. It's already well past eleven.

"It looks as though time still runs away without me, even after all of these years." I sigh tiredly, offering myself a condoling chuckle.

I hadn't intended to leave as late as I had. In fact, my initial purpose was to make my mandated appearance, and excuse myself thereafter. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to leave in such a light. The years between us had changed us all, no doubt, and we all readily agreed that too much time had passed. So when the opportunity presented itself before us, we took it. The chasms time cast between us all are still far from closing, but tonight was a start. _A start I sorely need in wake of the last ending…_ And, I was sure that, after this evening, the chasm would only shrink.

Stopping at the curb, I glance around. The iron rails running through the street were deserted, meaning I had missed the evening streetcar. The next one, according to the schedule plastered up on the streetlight, wasn't due until twelve thirty, and I felt no inclination to wait.

I cross the street slowly. Luckily, the neighborhood hadn't changed beyond the point of recognition since my leave, and I knew my relative location. Just beyond the primary school on the next block, sat Mother's house.

She wouldn't mind the intrusion, and surely not a visit. I hadn't been to town for almost a year, after all. I called Mother often enough, of course; her new cell phone made it easier to talk to her. But, I knew it wasn't the same. And, I did miss her.

Making up my mind, I smile slightly, in spite of myself. Perhaps Ikura-san had been right. The trip home could be just what the doctor had ordered. Besides Yuusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, Yukina… they weren't the only ones I had to rebuild bridges for. Now would be the perfect opportunity for me to set to work on the task.

Continuing down the block, I can see the corner of Mother's house, _my old house,_ peeking around the curb. Yet, at the familiar sight, my heart merely clenches. Something did not look right. In fact, something looked terribly wrong.

"Don't fool yourself." I told myself steadily, my walk quickening instinctively. Surely, it was just the distance. I was still a fair way from the house. It could just be my eyes trying to fool me. There was no need to jump to unnecessary conclusions.

Yet, in the few minutes it had taken me to close the distance between the house, and myself I knew something was wrong.

The house was not the same. The house I had lived in and loved as a child had changed. The house Mother and I had painstakingly taken care of, was no longer there. The white drywall, that had accented my sprawling garden beautifully, had been replaced with a painful shade of pale violet. And, the garden itself, aside from a row of Calla Lilies, I realized, had been uprooted, and grass seed had been laid in its place. Another new addition, I saw, was an annexed garage, on the far side of the house.

The heart in my chest beat painfully, thrumming like a miniature drum in my ears. Something was terribly, horribly amiss.

"Perhaps…" I am surprised at the coarseness, and restrictedness of my voice as it slips from my lips. "… Perhaps, she and Hatanaka merely changed some things…"

I shake my head determinately after a few more minutes of gazing at the house. There was one way to get to the root of this. I cross the threshold quietly, pulling myself up the steps of the foyer. After a brief hesitation, I push the doorbell.

_Was that another new addition? I don't recall one being there as a child._

A few minutes pass, in which the unease in me had escalated to the point where I could feel a hot rush in my veins. Youko was also getting anxious, it seemed.

Then, slowly, the door creaked open. Yet, the person I had been expecting to open the door wasn't there. My eyes widen slightly in surprise.

"Can I help you?" Asks the woman standing in front of me from behind the half-opened door. Her voicesoundstired and annoyed.

_Rightfully so, I suppose._

"Oh—no, I'm sorry." I utter a hurried apology and incline my head slightly. "I must have gotten the wrong address. Forgive me, ma'am."

The woman grumbles something under her breath, that I can't quite distinguish, and slams the door so loudly that the stained glass panel above shudders violently.

Shocked, I step numbly from the foyer, my feet feelingof leadand cumbersome beneath me as I descend the steps, and retreat toward the safety of the sidewalk. At least _it_ hadn't changed.

_But, apparently several other things had._

_---_

"What on Earth has happened here?" I ask myself dryly, my fingers working methodically on my temples to relieve the painful pressure rising in a tight knot in the base of my head. I close my eyes, concentrating on the painful throbbing of my skull. "What did I miss?"

How could so much have happened in the span of a single year? It seemed impossible. And yet, here it was: A wedding, and pregnancy, an engagement, family moving on… Nothing had remained the same. It was business as usual. Life had gone one without me; whether I was there or not.

"But, why wouldn't Mother have told me?" I did little to hide the pain in my tone as I asked myself this. It made no sense.

Reaching into my coat pocket, I withdrew my wallet. It was a gift Mother had given me years ago, at the tender age of thirteen. She had told me it belonged to my dear, late father before the heart attack had claimed him. I've carried it with me everywhere.

I rummage through the leather folds carefully, pushing aside idle bills and withdraw a small amount of change. Just enough for a phone call and a rail pass. Perfect.

Standing up, and replacing my wallet, I stretch tiredly. The metal bench I employed left me feeling stiff and sore. Stretching while I walk, my back cracks and I twist in discomfort, my shoulders relaxing as the tension lessens.

"Good evenin' sir." The man behind the ticket desk gives me a toothless smile, his wizened face contorting into a mess of wrinkles at the gesture.

"And to you as well." I reply, offering a pallid smile.

"Where ya off to at this time o' the night, sonny? Shouldn't ya be at home with the missus?"

As much as idle his chitchat annoyed me, the man had such a heartened sincerity about him that I felt it in my best graces to humor him. "Just visiting friends, sir. I came in from Keifuku earlier today."

"Visitin' and you're leavin' already? Gee boy, that's a quick visit."

"Yes sir. Well, work calls, you understand." I answer, finding it rather difficult to keep my voice amiable.

"O' course, sonny. So, where to?" He granted me another wide grin.

"Another one-way ticket to Keifuku, on the JR Tokaido line to Kyoto please."

He nodded and turned to his computer, submitting my requested information. Within a minute, a ticket materialized from the slot on the desktop and he pulled it out for me.

"Thank you, and take care, sir." I nod slightly, handing him money for the ticket, and turn back toward the platform.

"Have fun sonny!"

I shake my head, suppressing the chuckle that had risen in the pack of my throat. Such a curious old man he was.

The rail schedule next to the platform was nothing short of billboard-sized, and I searched for my rail line for several minutes before finding it on the list. After looking over the information, and checking my watch, which now read quarter after one, I nodded to myself.

"That gives me about ten or so minutes." I mumble, stifling another yawn as I head towards the pay phone on the other end of the platform.

I insert the remainder of my small change into the coin slot and wait for the dial tone to sound. After a moment, I dial Mother's number. As I wait for it to pick up and ring, and for her to answer, agitation gnaws on my nerve ends.

_How could she not have said anything? I am her son, after all. Has something happened? Why have I been left out of the proverbial loop? What's going on?_

On the fifth ring, her voice mail picks up, and I hear her familiar voice: "Shuuichi, how does this—Oh! It's on! Um… this is Shiori, I'm not in right now. Please leave a message, and I'll get back—" Then the beep sounded, cutting off the remainder of her message.

For a moment, I stay silent. Not quite sure of what I want to say, or how to say it. Part of me wishes to be angry, and voice the betrayal I felt, but at the same time I was just worried; worried about what might have happened. After wracking my brains—and successfully bringing back my migraine—I took a deep breath and spoke.

"Mother, it's me, Shuichi. I was in town today to hear Keiko and Yuusuke's big news. I'm sure you've heard already. I was planning to stay until Sunday afternoon, to spend some time in Tokyo after such a long absence, but I thought better of it. I have work and finals to prepare for, after all. I'm not doing badly in Kyoto myself, though I do miss Tokyo occasionally. I wanted to come see you and Hatanaka, and to apologize for not coming home sooner. I've truly missed you, Mother. But, when I dropped by the… old house… I guess you weren't there. You should have said something, Mother. I would have been done to help you move and get settled in. But, I guess it's not your fault. I lost contact. With everyone. I'm sorry. I'd like to see you all again soon, but I don't think it best if I came back to Tokyo for a while. You understand, don't you? I'm sorry…. I love you, Mother… Goodbye."

I hang up.

Returning to the bench, I sat and waited in resigned silence for the migraine to dissipate and for the train to pull in. I had a few minutes left to dwell on all that went on today.

"I just can't believe it." I sigh, resting my head in my hands as I massaged my forehead with my palms.

So much had changed in such a small space of time. Yuusuke had grown so much; not physically, but mentally and emotionally. He would make a splendid father when the time came. And Keiko, she had matured too. She and Yuusuke both, would make wonderful parents. Even Kazuma—he had really buckled down and was working to make something of himself. So different from when we were younger.

Nothing has stayed the same. Friends hadn't, life most certainly hadn't, and since I had left Tokyo, my own family hasn't either. The only thing wholly unchanged, because no one knows for sure what happened to him, was Hiei. He was still a reclusive, ningen-hating bastard, just as always. But, to his credit, even he had left. He had gone to Makai, with no guarantee of his return.

"It seems that everyone has moved on without me."

_Shall I be forever impervious to the natural flow of time?_

Rumbling in the distance snaps me to my senses, and I raise my head sharply. Sweeping carmine strands of hair from my face, I can see the train pulling into the station and nearing my platform. I stand up; weary, as the train stops.

The doors open and people flood the platform, bustling off the crowded train, eager to get on with their lives. I wait respectfully for the swarm to recede, and then pull myself onto the train.

"I suppose it's for the best that they moved on with their lives." I tell myself, casting a last fleeting glance out upon the platform before the doors slide shut behind me.

"It's not my home any longer…"

_It really wasn't._

* * *

**_Author's Ramblings: _**I know it's been awhile since the last chapter. So, I forgive you if you've forgotten this story. But, things have been really, really hectic around here, even with the let out of school for the summer.

Anyways, what did you think? I know it's sort of a pointless chapter, but it's a good reason to keep Kurama out of Tokyo for how long I need, so just deal with me, ne? Opinions are greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism, critiques, evne flames (used to make s'mores -). Just leave your name at the door, honest opinions intact, ne? And I'll promise to have chapter 5 up a lot more quickly than this one.

Blackrose


End file.
